Hexafoil plate 1760 - 1770

Editor: So, this is a porcelain hexafoil plate, made at the Real Fabrica de Buen Retiro, sometime between 1760 and 1770. It feels very delicate, almost like a miniature painting. The monochromatic landscape scene is quite charming, but what do you see in terms of the social and material implications? Curator: I'm drawn to how this object collapses boundaries. We have fine art – landscape painting – rendered on porcelain, a material itself undergoing intense processes of production and consumption in the 18th century. Who made it? What were their working conditions? Were they valued or exploited? This factory, backed by royalty, was deeply embedded in economic and political networks. The plate isn’t just decoration; it’s a record of labor and consumption practices. Editor: That’s interesting. So you see this plate as a signifier of its manufacturing context? How does its function as a plate complicate its potential artistic value? Curator: Precisely! Its function challenges that value. It was made to be used, possibly displayed. The image is literally on the surface for handling. It invites interaction and consumption, setting up interesting tensions with its detailed painting. Also, we can ask: how does the artist’s labour fit into this broader system of the factory and consumer? Were they encouraged to take creative freedom in the miniature landscape displayed on the plate, or was it just purely following a plan? Editor: I never thought about a plate holding so many layers. It makes you wonder about all the hands it passed through. Curator: Absolutely. Every material has a history of extraction, transformation, and labor embedded within it. And that, perhaps, is a deeper appreciation than a purely aesthetic judgement can afford. Editor: Thanks! This has made me look at decorative arts with totally new eyes. Curator: Indeed! Thinking about the 'how' and 'who' behind any artwork is where the real magic begins.